Dear Friends,
ON THIS WEEK’S PODCAST AND RADIO PROGRAM:
(00:58) Putin’s not the only one to blame for war in Ukraine;
(20:31) By appointing both hawks and doves, what’s Trump’s real agenda?
(37:10) Canoeing Canada in November, with Zac Bales-Henry;
(54:23) December garden Q & A, with Kathy Byrnes Fallon.
I remember November 9, 1989, quite clearly. That was the day crowds of Germans, emboldened by the sweet scent of freedom, began to dismantle the Berlin Wall. It was an exhilarating moment filled with hope and promise. An end to the Cold War and the nuclear arms race seemed within reach.
At that time, I worked as the director of Des Moines Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. I happily considered the possibility of near-term unemployment.
What happened next was tragic. The promise of world peace was squandered, largely through the actions of US leaders, both Democrat and Republican. Since the late-1990s, tensions between Russia and “the West” have worsened. They’ve now come to a head in Ukraine, and the risk of nuclear war has never been greater.
Jeffrey Weiss (with me in this photo in the studio) says: “You can’t understand the lead up to the war in Ukraine without considering Russia’s concerns about the expansion of NATO. Russia felt deeply deceived and betrayed by the promise that NATO would not go an inch further east than Germany, a promise made by the US and our European allies.”
Yet, beginning with the Clinton administration, NATO expanded. Tremendously. Right up to Russia’s border:
— In 1999, Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic were added;
— In 2004, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia;
— In 2009, Albania and Croatia;
— In 2017, Montenegro;
— In 2020, North Macedonia;
— In 2023, Finland; and
— In 2024, Sweden.
Here’s what NATO looks like today:
Though mostly ignored by the corporate media and politicians bought-and-paid for by Big Bomb, there are strong voices of opposition to NATO’s expansion on both the Left and Right.
That includes the highly respected George Kennan, former US ambassador to the USSR, who said, “[E]xpanding NATO would be the most fateful error of American policy in the entire post-Cold War era. Such a decision may be expected to inflame the nationalistic, anti-Western and militaristic tendencies in Russian opinion; to have an adverse effect on the development of Russian democracy; to restore the atmosphere of the Cold War to East-West relations, and to impel Russian foreign policy in directions decidedly not to our liking.”
Back to Jeffrey: “The Russian Federation will not tolerate US missiles and a hostile military alliance on its border. Essentially, it means that Western armies are at its doorstep. We should liken this to the US not accepting Russian missiles stationed in Cuba.”
Jeffrey and I, and perhaps everyone not living in Russia, agree that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is a violation of the UN Charter. It’s a war of aggression that must be condemned. But the prevailing Pentagon talking points, parroted by the media, must be challenged. There is clear, compelling US culpability in this war, and its further escalation will only dig our new Cold War hole deeper.
What can you do? As always, write your Congressperson. Better yet, track them down when they’re back home and confront them directly. Person-to-person is always the best way to communicate.
Also, if you live in central Iowa, come to the Iowa Peace Network’s annual open house. It’s 1:30 to 4:30 this Saturday, December 7, at the Des Moines Mennonite Church, 4001 56th Street in Des Moines. The event’s guest speaker? Jeffrey Weiss at 2:30. Hope to see you there.
Thanks for reading, listening, and taking action. — Ed Fallon
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In addition to our PODCAST, listen to the Fallon Forum on these affiliates:
– KHOI 89.1 FM (Ames, Iowa)
– KICI.LP 105.3 FM (Iowa City, Iowa)
– WHIV 102.3 FM (New Orleans, Louisiana)
– KPIP-LP, 94.7 FM (Fayette, Missouri)
– KCEI 90.1 FM (Taos, New Mexico)
– KRFP 90.3 FM (Moscow, Idaho)
– WGRN 94.1 FM (Columbus, Ohio)